Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I always think I hate eggplant.
I usually say it tastes like a sponge.
Now, there's a good reason for that, and it's because a lot of people prepare eggplant wrong and frankly, it can have a spongy texture.
Every time I'm hating on eggplant, my Mom points out that I DO like eggplant, because eggplant parmigiana used to be one of my favorite dishes as a kid.

So, what's a girl to do? Make Eggplant Parmigana!  This also endeared me to my husband, as he loves it. I'm glad to say, I was totally wrong, and this is a wonderful dish to make.  I've made it twice in the last couple weeks, it was quite popular and it tasted great reheated for lunches too.

The first time we made it (I had help in the kitchen) we used leftover spaghetti sauce, but canned marinara sauce, or even tomato sauce would work too.  My hubby helper always does the slicing on my mandolin, as it always scares me to death to use. I'm attached to my finger tips, you know?  He tried it 1/4 inch slices the first time, and 3/8 inch thick slices the second time.  I'm leaning towards 3/8 inch for future preparations.

I need to tell you I swapped out the shredded mozzarella for regiano parmesan instead! Also not pictured is Cavenders Greek Seasoning, but any seasoning salt would work.

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced cross ways in 3/8 inch slices
1 cup marina sauce
2-3 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano reggiano
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper or seasoning salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheets with sides, as there is some moisture in the baking process!

Slice the eggplant, and season with salt and pepper, or a seasoning salt. Using a bit of olive oil, fry each side until a bit of color appears.  The eggplant does seem to soak up quite a bit of the oil, so be ready to add more as needed. Add the fried slices to the baking sheet.  Fry more slices until your sheet is full, or you have enough portions for your meal.

Top each fried round of eggplant with a couple tablespoons of sauce, adding mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. If the cheese isn't bubbly and brown yet, cook for another 5-8 minutes.  

*Don't be too worried if there is a lot of moisture on the pan in the beginning.  That will evaporate and dry off.

It makes a bit of a mess on your pan, but it comes clean easily!

Dinner is served... not the prettiest dish, but absolutely delicious.

Roasted Cauliflower with Apples, Bacon & Balsamic vinegar

Always on the look out for a new easy side dish.  I love that you can easily prep this ahead and just throw in a hot oven to cook while you concentrate on the rest of the dinner.  I found this recipe on this site and I was instantly smitten and wanted to give it a try.

Many of you may have heard me complain about balsamic vinegar.... I am not usually a fan of the stuff.  While I love the tangy vinegar, it's usually too sweet and too dark colored, ruining the colors of a dish.  In this dish, it's wonderful.   I take it all back (for n

Serves about 4-6
Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, broken into flowerettes
2 apples, de-cored and cut into thick slices, or chunks
4 thick slices bacon, cut into strips
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper


Marinate the cauliflower and apples in the vinegar for about 1 hour.  I used a gallon ziploc bag and shook it altogether.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil.

Spread out the cauliflower and apple slices on the prepared baking sheet and cover with the chopped bacon and generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Roast for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and using a spatula, flip the cauliflower mixture.

Place back in the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the bacon is crisp.

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Sautéed Artichokes- Venetian Style

It all started with a day at the Rialto Market in Venice.  We were traveling with friends, and one of them insisted that we purchase the special artichokes.  They were 10 artichoke bottoms for 8 euros, since they were already trimmed and good sized, I figured  that was a pretty good deal.  However, we had a very limited little kitchenette in our hotel room.  The place we stayed at was perfect for two couples- two bedrooms, two baths, a combined mini living/dining room and a tiny "hall way" kitchen. When our buddy wanted to buy these, I thought we would need to buy too many things... it just isn't going to work.  

But he pressed it... mentioning that there was a bowl of condiment packets in the kitchen.  Yes... there was, the wheels started turning.  
I remembered the olive oil packets (really cool!), lemon juice packets (for tea, I guess) and the usual Nutella, tea bags, creamers, sugars and salt & pepper. 
OKAY!  I think we can do this using some of these items, hahaha.  
At a fruit stand on the way back to the hotel, we had to use pantomime to order the artichokes, then the garlic, but once our veggie guy caught on, he pulled a bunch of Italian parsley up with a grin and a look that said "you need this too!".  Who am I to argue, so I said, "Si".

When we got back to the hotel, I Googled "Venetian Artichokes" and immediately found what I was looking for and we had everything we needed!  I love it when that happens. We had leftover french bread from breakfast and we had just bought some white wine to enjoy for our "happy hour" snack.

Before we get to the recipe, I have to mention the view from our living room as we concocted the artichokes.

Our little apartment hotel (there were no more than 8-9 rooms) had a perfect location on a canal with a couple windows and a wrought iron balcony filled with flowers.  If you are planning a trip to Venice, you should try to stay here!

Right across from our place was the church that Marco Polo is buried in.  That's what the gondola guy is pointing at. 

Beautiful classic motorboats ran up and down the canals, some obviously taxis, but some were personal boats.

Here's another one, I was waiting and waiting for one of the gorgeous all teak boats, but gave up trying to photograph one.








I highly recommend this site if you like Italian food, this is the first recipe I found while searching my little tablet in our hotel/apartment kitchen.  I have used this blog for another recipe with great success too.

My pictures below aren't that clear, but it was a bit dark in that wee kitchen...
I have to give all the credit to my friend Randy, he did all the cooking and chopping, even arranging the ingredients for the photos.  I was merely the photographer and technical advisor.  I was happy to drink wine and shout encouragement.  We had a blast sharing these artichokes right afterwards with the others. 

Serves about 4
Ingredients

8 Large Artichoke Bottoms

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Juice from Half a Lemon

1 garlic Clove

1 cup white wine

1 cup Water

3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the artichoke bottoms.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned, then add the lemon juice, garlic, wine, and water. 

Reduce the heat to low, and cook until the choke bottoms are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

Spoon a couple of artichokes on each plate, adding a couple spoonfuls of sauce.  Serve at once with some crusty bread.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Maple & Dijon

Fall is in the air.  It is officially the last day of Summer today.
I guess I am ready, since everything I have been making lately is incorporating maple syrup!
I was even dreaming of maple cheesecake the other day... hmmm, we will see.

This recipe is a keeper for a variety of reasons- 1) it has only five ingredients 2) It's an easy side dish for those holidays that might be coming up and 3) it's different from so many other recipes for sprouts! Hey it's really pretty too, so it gets some points for that.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

16 oz fresh brussels sprouts, trimmed
1/2 red onion, diced
4 oz bacon, diced
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
  
Trim up the brussels sprouts, cutting a bit off the stem end if it looks like it needs it.  Cut each in half and set aside.  I throw in any leaves that fall off and include them too. 

Dice up the bacon and cook over medium high heat until it starts to darken and crisp, but be sure remove it from the heat before it gets hard and crispy.  You want it a bit soft still.  Using a slotted spoon remove the bacon to a small dish off to the side while you cook the rest.  Discard all but about one tablespoon of bacon fat for sauteing the onions and sprouts.
 

Add the red onions and cook until they start to soften and the color become more pink, and less purple.  Throw in the brussels sprouts and stir to cook.  I like my sprouts a bit on on the hard side and still bright green, but they taste good when they soften up a bit more too.  You will need to cook them for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how done you want them.
 

Add in the maple, the dijon mustard and stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper and then taste. Depending on your tastes, you may want to add more dijon and/or more maple syrup.
Serve at once. 

 
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Grilled Summer Squash with Pecans & Blue Cheese

I liked the picture of the ingredients more than the picture of the finished dish...

I liked the recipe the second I saw this in the edition of Food & Wine June 2016, I wanted to make it.
But sadly, I did not follow all the instructions.
Either that, or I did not give good direction to the Hubster when he went out to grill.
Can you repeat "al dente" after me?

YES... do not, do NOT overcook the squash. 
 You don't want a squishy texture, you want barely cooked with the yumminess of blue cheese and the crunch of pecans.
You do, believe me.
I love this dish and I will make it again, but we will be super vigilant to ensure the squash is undercooked.
Or, you can follow the directions from Food & WIne below and remove the part most likely to get squishy.    

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

    1/2 cup pecan halves

    1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

    Kosher salt

    Pepper

    2 pounds mixed zucchini and summer squash

    1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

    1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

    1 tablespoon honey

    1 teaspoon thyme leaves (I used dried, but I think fresh would be better...)

    2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

    Grilled bread, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the pecans with the butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and roast until fragrant and browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely, then coarsely chop.

Quarter the zucchini and summer squash lengthwise and cut off the soft, seedy 
centers. In a large bowl, toss all of the squash with 2 tablespoons 
of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Light a grill. Grill all of the squash over moderately high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and tender, about 
10 minutes. Cut the zucchini and summer squash into 2-inch lengths; transfer to a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the honey, thyme and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil; 
season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon vinaigrette 
to the grilled squash and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl 
and top with the crumbled blue cheese and toasted pecans. Serve with grilled bread, or serve as a side dish/salad.

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